Strainer for cellar drains



Dec. 30, 1947. R. H. BROADMAN STRAINER FOR CELLAR DRAINS Filed March 29, Y 1945 INVENTOR. wkflBraap m BY Z Patented Dec. 30, 194 7 ApplicationMarchw, fiigflalln F 215 inve iismn' leie jm eie epnsir mer in 'iqr m l ninp llardr ins zindin 9 h? lecations. An bbject gf pk e inyeniion'is the prowvi is j i r enera lyi mnreved' and mor elfisiaciory eieverg imi s iofrihisikind.

Armin qbiectr is. henr visio o 'si v Q i Still gnotiher object, is. .the prqyision of a sieve which ca the: installed readily in anypipe vgwi ether e cellar drain or eisewhere) whichihas an opening somewhat restricted in comparison with ,thegdiameter Of 8 pipe beyond. iheidpe'q- A inrther pbjectiisjche provision of a, sieve whigh is easy, tdinsta'll'jbut :difficuit to remove, so

that children and other unauthorized persens will pedeterred from ,a ttemp ting to 'remove'it;

A stilhmrther object is izheprovision'of a novel method of manufacturing "and installing a; sieve iinp aQPiPe of a type not' originally having any prefvisionfor asieve;

rlThese and ether desirable objects are accompiished .by. the constructiondiseiosed' as an illnetrative embodiment of theiinvenfiionin thefdllowing description and" in" Itkie accompanying drawings forming a part hereof; inwhic'h: 1,."Fig. '1 is a verticarsectien through a fragment of a, cellar floor and a drain pipe instaI-Ied ijiierin, to show "a; typicsliforr'n =o'f existingcbn'struction' with whichithe presentirii' ention is p'al rt ienirFig: i2 is a vertical seetion taken centrally ent'inventi'qmsh'dwing it installed in a drain pipe of the'typeiishown'in Fig. 1; and Fig; BI is 'afpl'an of the sieve shown in fig. 2, removed from the drain. l The same reference numerals t lojcat io'ns agisbl' *wmie'many; eel-igr drgii s a equipped, upon ihi'tialjnfstallatien withjsieves r' strainers "pi" yarioii; types; ii; f'is neverti elqss1prne that; :there are "a; irgejnumbei fpf qel l argdrainsjn 'usejat the"present time -sti11, being stalled,

die-meme p in i e n icnis in Wi e xu' f l i 'f eq ihitih re h a esz siderab p b m 'ns'jza'lling algeye pr etr a iner, n proyision for .nwhls ev 9 r=-Linr .;beine mad nx design gp Q' thefpariqs. A .plng eagn pe gcrewed'into jzne wih' r de @d. i c n x in. but 3213 m; into; e "le t new: there "has. A een no e gy; way, (prigr to 'jzhe presentx inn .il fi f. ren Janine o emo a plugin W .t1 lr@.dS; 23 fiinee the ferrule -*;l-5--is buried in jgi e gonpifiete 119px, it obviously is not "practical Y pojoreglgpp ihe -f 1oor ronnct the; ferrule and re- .1, v in: 2 1 1. 6 to repla e itpbya: d f erent ty 40 10 ferrnle lgnving prpvisi0n.for a; siejver" ifieegrdir g icy ine present; invention, a sieve is provided whiqhj 5 1 3 v be readily:- installed im-a. dr a in oi gins type; find-Which, when once insiae l-ied pgn, be removedj-if necessary," but only $5 wiph sorne d menlty", soqasstq dise ourageremov'al 2i.v h qi rnznlay ngi in .the ce r; Orothr un g gl qrized persQns. ,gf I'htegsieve has abodyform'd irqmja ghe et of; flexible {resilient material, prefe ply sheet metal for plastic material witna ble q ili imar insn whichathefi rg it is installed in its normal position. These passages are supplemented by perforations 31 in the fingers, and other perforations 39 in the bottom 3|.

Associated with this basket-like body of the siev is a stabilizing or anchoring member to assist in holding the sieve in proper position in the drain pipe. The stabilizing or anchoring member may be formed integrally with the sheet metal from which the bottom 3i and fingers 33, are formed, but preferably is in the form of a separate member soldered, welded, or riveted to the bottom 31 of the body. In the preferred form here shown this stabilizing or anchoring member is, like the body itself, formed of flexible and resilient material such as sheet metal, and comprises a flat central portion 4| secured to the underside of the bottom member 3! and provided with perforations alined with or matching the perforations in the member 3|. From this body 4l; spider-like arms or fingers 43 extend obliquely: outwardly, away from the fingers '33 of the sieve body, and are long enough to come into contact with the walls of the pipe in which the sieve is installed, at points spaced axially from the ends of the fingers 33. Three such arms 43 are preferably employed, as shown, al-

though any number could be used. The contact of these arms with the walls of the pipe holds the main body 3!, 33 against cocking or tilting in the pipe, thus stabilizingit. Moreover, when the ferrule of the drain pipe is installed in the bell at the top of the pipe l I, there is usually a substantial structural variation in the otherwise smooth interior surface of the pipe, this structural variation being usually in the. form of an' annular groove as indicated at 45, just below the bottom of the-ferrule l5. The extremities 410i the arms 43 are preferably bent to extend approximately perpendicularly to the axis of the pipe, and are somewhat pointed as shown, so that they will extend into the annular groove 45 or other structural Variati'onin the pipe, to anchor th sieve against accidental axial movement' along the pipe in which it is installed. The reason for making the extremities 45 somewhat pointed is so that these points will dig into and through any dirt or refuse which may have accumulated in the annular groove 45, if the sieve is installed in a drain pipe which has already been in use for a considerable time.

In practice, if the householder desires to have a sieve installed in a drain of this general type,

the sieve of the present invention is readily installed by first passing the stabilizing or anchoring legs 43 through the restricted opening formed by the screw threads 23 (momentarily bending the legs 43 inwardly to compress them so as to pass through the restricted opening) and then the main body of the sieve is passed through the opening by exerting pressure downwardly on the fiat bottom 3| thereof. The downward pressure thus exerted will press the oblique resilient fingers 33 against 'the restricted opening with sufficient force to deflect these resilient fingers 33 inwardly, compressing them to reduce the diameter of the outer ends of the fingers until they will go through the restricted opening 23. Immediately after passing through the restricted opening 23, the fingers 33 spring outwardly again to fill the full diameter of the ferrule l5. As the sieve is pushed further down the ferrule l5, the ends of the fingers 33 ride along the inner surface ofthe ferrule in frictional contact therewith, while the extremities 41 of the resilient legs 43 likewise ride along the inner surface of the ferrule, until they come to the structural variation on which the device is to be anchored (such as the annular groove 45) whereupon the extremities 41 contact with such structural variation and resist further axial movement of the sieve. For instance, if the structural variation is an annular groove, as is usually the case, the extremities 41 of the legs 43 will snap into this annular groove immediately upon passing the lower end of the ferrule 15, and thus Will hold the sieve in proper position.

If necessary, the sieve can be removed from the drain by inserting long-nose pliers or another suitable tool into the drain opening, and grasping the fingers 33 and bending them inwardly beyond their elastic limit, reducing the diameter of the sieve body to such an extent that it can be yanked upwardly out through the restricted opening of the drain pipe. Such removal, however, requires special tools and special skill, and ordinarily cannot be accomplished by children playing in the cellar. A sieve of this kind is extremely valuable in houses where children are allowed to play in the cellar, because experience shows that children are very likely to attempt to place pieces of coal, marbles, or other toys in the cellar drain,.not only clogging up the drain but also resulting in loss of the marbles or toys, all of which is prevented by the installation of a sieve of this kind.

The sieve would, of course, be manufactured in different sizes to fit the different standard sizes of cellar drain pipes. In most cellar drains of the general type here referred to, the diameter of the screw threads 23 is about two inches to three inches, and the sieve of the present invention may be made in two or three standard sizes which will fit the great majority of drains of this general type.

It is seen from the foregoing disclosure that a construction is provided which admirably fulfills the above-mentioned objects of the invention. It is to be understood that the foregoing disclosure is given by way of illustrative example only, rather than by way of limitation,-and that without departing from the invention, the construction may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sieve for insertion in a drain pipe having a restricted openin and being of larger diameter beyond said restricted opening and having an annular groove spaced inwardly from said opening, said sieve including a body of perforated sheet material having a relatively rigid central portion of smaller size than the size of said restricted opening and having substantially frusto-conical sides formed of a plurality of portions sufiiciently flexible so that they may be compressed to decreasethefdiameter of the body so as to'pass through said restricted opening, sothat said body may be placed in said pipe betweensaid restricted pe n a d saidanp l ar groove.;and ai resilient anchoring member connected to said body and extending therefrom in a direction away from said restricted opening and tending to expand to a diameter engaging said annular groove in the drain pipe.

2. A sieve for insertion in a pipe, said sieve including an approximately frusto-conical body of sheet material having an approximately fiat central portion and oblique walls formed of flexible resilient fingers extending obliquely upwardly from the edges of said central portion and laterally separated from each other throughout substantial portions of their lengths so that said fingers may be bent inwardly to reduce the diameter of the body and will tend to spring outwardly to tend to fill the cross section of the pipe in which the sieve is inserted, and a stabilizing member connected to said central portion of said body and extending obliquely downwardly therefrom in a direction opposite to the direction in which said resilient fingers extend, for contact with the walls of the pipe in which the sieve is inserted at a point axially spaced from the maximum diameter of said body.

3. A construction as described in claim 1, in which said anchoring member includes a plurality of sheet metal arms having oblique portions extending from said central portion of said body toward said annular groove and having end portions bent relatively to said oblique portions so as to extend approximately in a radial direction in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said drain i e, said end portions being pointed and adapted to dig into any dirt accumulated in said annular groove.

4. A strainer for insertion in a drain pipe of the type having a restricted entrance opening. a portion of larger diameter than said opening for a substantial distance inwardly from said opening, and an annular groove of still larger diameter at the inner end of said portion, said strainer being adapted to be seated in said portion between said restricted entrance opening and said annular groove, said strainer including a body of perforated sheet metal having a relatively rigid central portion of small diameter than the size of said restricted entrance opening of the pipe in which said strainer is to be installed and having inclined side walls slitted to form resilient fingers collectively compressible to a diameter capable of passing through said restricted entrance opening and tending after passing theretnrough to expand to a larger diameter, said side walls being inclined in a direction toward said entrance opening when said body is installed in said pipe, said strainer further including an anchoring portion mounted on said central portion of said body and having a plurality of resilient arms inclined in a direction away from said entrance opening and terminating in ends adapted to engage in said annular groove.

RALPH H. BROADMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,706,000 Settles Mar. 19, 1929 1,950,817 Rossman Mar. 13, 1934 2,281,448 Mathey Apr. 28, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 21,703 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1895 

